


Golden Threads

by MissionKitty



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Female My Unit | Byleth, Friendship, Gen, Will add tags as the story progresses, golden ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:14:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27123037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissionKitty/pseuds/MissionKitty
Summary: Byleth wakes up after yet another violent dream of war between a mysterious man and woman, but she quickly finds that her life will become inextricably tied to many others'. A new, ghostly, yet somehow familiar and irreplaceable companion reveals that this is not the first time they've done this.But she intends for it to be the last.Golden Ending for Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Relationships: Jeralt Reus Eisner & My Unit | Byleth, My Unit | Byleth & Sothis
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Golden Threads

**Author's Note:**

> this is a big project i've been sitting on for a while, but only recently got the inspiration i needed to put it in words.
> 
> i know intsys decided from the beginning that they didn't want to do a revelations-style ending for three houses, but i think that might have been something of a missed opportunity for them. so here i am, making one of my own.
> 
> since i identify as a woman and played as f!byleth through every route, this will be using she/her pronouns for byleth but i am planning on retooling this when i finish it to post an m!byleth and nb!byleth version--but even still, i plan on keeping f!byleth's descriptors as gender-neutral as possible.
> 
> this will be very friendship-heavy between byleth and the three lords, but i don't know if i intend for this to be romantic at all since i'm planning on trying to save as many characters as possible. i'm kind of waiting to see what the characters end up doing on their own, hehe. but anyway, welcome and i hope you enjoy.

Byleth groaned quietly as she sat up in bed, frustrated that her sleep had been interrupted by the same violent dream of war between a mysterious green-haired woman and that large, intimidating man. Those two generally tended to be the only things she would remember once the sun came up and her attention was required for other matters.

She tried peering out the window to determine what time it was, hoping that she could go back to sleep for at least a little while longer before they set out with her father's band of mercenaries to their next job.

It was still dark, stars like little pinpricks above the treeline. Byleth sighed in relief and started to recline back in bed when she heard someone clear their throat in an unfamiliar cadence. She bolted out of bed and whipped her head around, looking for the intruder.

It wasn't a new sensation, being startled into alertness, but it was certainly a new experience in her own room.

She started to calculate where the closest weapon might be, but didn't get far when the voice cleared its throat again.

"I know it's dark, but I'm over here." The voice was young-sounding, but decidedly impatient.

Byleth turned her attention to the corner of her room, where she was a young girl sitting with her arms crossed in a chair. Was she... glowing slightly? Regardless of the low light Byleth was able to see her clearly--the girl was dressed with an intricate golden headdress, a curious black, ancient-looking outfit, and long, dark green hair that billowed out in waves behind and around her. Her ears were pointed, most curiously of all, and Byleth could not stop herself from speaking as a strange sense of comfort washed over her.

"Sothis…"

Byleth was dumbstruck as this unknown name fell from her lips and could not muster any other words or thoughts.

"Good, you remember my name too," the girl chirped proudly. "That saves me at least a few seconds of introduction. Though," she paused, looking around the room. "I'm surprised that our first official meeting isn't on the throne…"

The girl, Sothis, stepped away from the chair and stepped onto Byleth's bed. She walked to the edge, looking the stunned mercenary in the eye.

Byleth felt flashes of nostalgia, both scary and comforting as she stared back into the bright green eyes in front of her. There were no images, but one last wave of comfort washed over her and she had to keep herself from reaching out and hugging the incorporeal Sothis. She wasn't sure how she remembered this curious girl, but she knew that she was a dear friend. Byleth didn't bother probing the issue further in her mind.

"Good...and I'm glad to see you too." Sothis smiled her familiar, cheeky smile. "And I wouldn't have minded an attempted hug, you know. At the very least, it would have been entertaining!"

Before she could say anything else, Byleth's pulse raced as different feelings kept washing over her in furious waves. Her breathing started to shallow as the feelings began to coalesce into a bitter sadness.

"You only get feelings...no images..." Sothis tried musing as calmly as possible, but her expression was starting to contort into the grimace Byleth felt forming on her own face. "You must remember to breathe or else we'll both be passed out," Sothis quickly added, pressing her fingers against her temple. "I can only guess this is happening because  _ I _ remember everything that's happened."

"You...remember?" Byleth sputtered in between shaky breaths. "Remember what?"

"That we've done this all before, Byleth," Sothis said seriously, a fierce look in her eyes. "Too many times for my liking. And I intend for us to make things right."

Byleth did not get much of a chance to press Sothis further before Jeralt came in, surprised that Byleth was already awake. Whatever Jeralt said was quickly lost on Byleth's muddy feelings, and like a whirlwind, they were ushered out of the inn they were staying at by way of a mysterious request.

The longer Byleth had been awake, the more she kept thinking her meeting with Sothis had been an extension of her dream--but Sothis remained floating in her periphery as they ran out to see who had requested their help.

They ran out to see three young people, somewhere around Byleth's age, dressed in distinct uniforms, each colored differently. Before Byleth could begin to size up the three youths, yet another wave of emotions crashed over her. She could hear Sothis grunt in tandem with her, though it appeared that no one bothered to acknowledge Byleth's distracted state.

The three youths stared at Byleth and Jeralt expectantly after asking for their help in evading bandits. Byleth heard her father express mild disdain as he recognized the distinguished uniforms they wore, but before he could say much more about their origin, the aforementioned bandits appeared.

"Stay focused," Sothis's voice was like a whisper this time, but she was nowhere to be found as Byleth quickly peeked around for her enigmatic, yet familiar companion.

"I'm within you for now. I think we still need some time to acclimate to all this, so I'll let you take the lead...otherwise you might just pass out on the battlefield."

Byleth sighed quietly and nodded, realizing that she  _ did _ feel a bit better without Sothis in her field of vision.

"I'd take that as an insult, but this feels better for me at the moment as well," Sothis grumbled.

Byleth let out a laughing exhale before setting out to repel the bandits.

Amid the rising emotions that seemed to sit right beneath her lungs, there was a strange familiarity in fighting alongside these people. However, she didn't allow herself the luxury of pulling on this thread of emotion. The battlefield was no place for getting distracted by unexplainable nostalgia.

Despite the strange night she had experienced, holding a blade in her hand cleared Byleth's mind and she moved to dispatch the bandits with ease--perhaps even more easily than she expected. She could feel herself swing her sword with more confidence and strength than she remembered the day before. Was this due to Sothis's strong, sudden presence as well?

"Call it muscle memory, if you'd like," Sothis murmured, answering Byleth's thoughts.

Byleth shook her head, not ready to unpack that statement while she disarmed the last bandit before standing against who she assumed was their boss.

"You with the blank stare! Outta my way!" The man barked as he raised his axe.

Byleth thought little of his demand and squared off against the bandit leader. An arrow landed fast in his shoulder, and she nodded a silent thanks to the youth in yellow, recalling his adept bow skills...and something else? Memories clawed at the edge of Byleth's mind, but she stifled her thoughts as she took the man down with ease.

He landed on his back with a thud and Byleth let out a small sigh of relief. She took a few steps back when a shock of silver hair appeared in her peripheral vision. Byleth turned to address what felt like another assault, but just saw the young woman in the red-accented uniform run up as she planted her axe in the ground.

Time seemed to stand still as Byleth examined her. Another flood of emotions overtook her, and Byleth could not keep herself from uttering out a name.

"Edelgard."

The woman stopped in her tracks, staring at Byleth with a mix of curiosity and apprehension.

"You already know my name?" The young woman asked with something odd, yet at the moment unidentifiable in her tone.

A deep, awful ache filled Byleth's lungs as she stared into Edelgard's almost otherworldly gaze.

Byleth did not linger for long on the sensation when she heard Sothis shout in her ear and saw Edelgard square herself in the other direction, grabbing a dagger from her waist.

Without hesitation, Byleth threw herself between Edelgard and the again-standing bandit leader and waited for the blade of his axe to hit her back.

But nothing came.

Byleth opened her eyes to find herself now in a darkened chamber, a faint green glow at the edges of her vision. She looked up to see a large stone throne, steps leading up to the seat where none other than Sothis was seated.

A loud scoff came from the small girl and she shook her head.

"It's both very comforting and very irritating to see how reckless you always are," Sothis said with a loud, exaggerated sigh. "Do you know what comes next?"

Byleth looked up at Sothis, feeling a sheepish sense of dejá vu.

"You can't explain why, but you know you do, don't you?"

Sothis's words fell heavy in the ethereal darkness where they stood. The small girl was much more than a mysterious child, and Byleth knew in her bones she stood at the feet of a powerful mentor and friend. But she could not explain why.

The words spilled from Byleth's lips again:

"We need to turn back the flow of time."

"Very good," Sothis said with a mysterious smile. "Perhaps we'll be able to change the flow of fate after all."

***

Claude. Edelgard. Dimitri. The three youths had finally gotten the chance to introduce them, but as they attempted to clamor over who Byleth would serve, it took everything Byleth had to maintain even a modicum of focus on the three of them. The emotions were coming fast and hard now, like angry, white-capped waves she had seen on the sea.

She couldn't remember her response as they awaited her answer on who she would like to serve, and only now as they traveled to Garreg Mach did Byleth finally begin to feel some relief from those overwhelming feelings.

As the large monastery came into view, Byleth realized the awkward silence that now hung in the air.  _ Had _ Byleth said something untoward to them?

"You didn't give them an answer on who to serve this time, not that you weren't any less verbose than you've been to them before," Sothis added.

Before. The word stuck in her mind like a stubborn burr.

Byleth couldn't wrap her head around the idea that this was not the first time she had met the three lordlings, but deep in her soul she could not deny she knew them...before. Not in this life, but something more distant. Distant, yet still dear?

All these feelings felt so paradoxical. She could only approximate it to feeling everything all at once. But at least she was able to put some kind of description to it all.

"It's coming into view," a deep, gentle voice said, shocking Byleth out of her maze of thoughts. She turned in the direction of the voice to see Dimitri walking beside her, a courteous smile on his face. He looked ahead, and Byleth followed his gaze to see the sprawling monastery built on a mountain range.

More feelings began flooding Byleth's body. She attempted to put more names to it all, but was interruptes by Sothis's urgent voice.

"Byleth! Watch what your hands are doing!"

Byleth glanced down to see her hand stretching toward Dimitri's and with only perhaps a centimeter between them, she quickly and discreetly pulled her hand back to her side. She startled herself into taking a small step away from Dimitri and hoped he hadn't noticed.

_ Was  _ **_that_ ** _ muscle memory too? _ Byleth thought, rolling over each word in her mind, mildly horrified.

"Perhaps," Sothis added in an unhelpfully teasing tone.

Byleth glanced back at Dimitri, who seemed to have not noticed their almost-contact. He continued staring ahead at Garreg Mach in the distance, and she looked ahead as well, rubbing her eyes, suddenly feeling exhausted.

The rest of the trek to the monastery continued in silence. Byleth tried keeping her distance from everyone, starting to fear what her body might try to do if she got too close. She was starting to fear that she was actually losing control of her own body somehow.

"You probably just need a good night of sleep," Sothis said with a sigh. "I think I'm mostly to blame for all of this, and I apologize."

A good night of sleep did sound like paradise to Byleth at this point, though she had a feeling it would probably be some ways away. A strange feeling of dread settled on her shoulders as they crossed the entrance of the monastery proper into what appeared to be the marketplace.

The three lords had split off from their group once they arrived and Byleth watched them go their separate ways. Her mind began to settle again once they left, but the dread remained.

"Is everything all right, kid?" Jeralt asked, patting Byleth on the back. She wondered if he could sense her sudden apprehension. "You've seemed a little more distant than usual since meeting the brats...I know all of this has been a lot to take in so suddenly."

Byleth looked up at her father, taking comfort in his familiar presence.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Byleth couldn't help but lie. There was too much that she still needed to sort out, and he had humored her enough by listening to her talk about her dreams all their lives. "It was just kind of a rough night last night, even before the bandits."

Jeralt grunted in agreement and nodded.

"Well, that explains why you were already awake." He patted her back again, making Byleth feel a little more at ease. She heard Sothis give a little grunt before settling back into silence, almost making her crack a smile.

They walked a short way into the courtyard when Jeralt stopped and grunted again.

"Rhea's here," he said sternly. Byleth saw him look up and she followed, looking up to see a woman staring down at them from a balcony. The dizzying dejá vu returned and she swallowed hard.

Rhea.

The dread from earlier seemed to multiply in weight and pressed hard on Byleth. She lost herself again in trying to tame the feelings rising like bile in her throat, but quickly after Jeralt looked back down a group of knights came and escorted the two of them up stairs and into a solemn chamber.

"It's been years since I've last set eyes on this place. To be forced to see her now…" Jeralt said with a disappointment Byleth easily recognized in her father's voice, despite her muddy thoughts.

However, Byleth couldn't string any kind of response together and merely stood in silence as the woman from the courtyard and another green-haired, stern-looking man entered the chamber and stood in front of them.

Rhea and...Seteth?

Actual bile started to rise in Byleth's throat as more emotions suddenly swirled around her. How could she possibly know his name? They had not met until now. She knew nothing of the Church of Seiros--or did she? Visions of different rooms and voices echoed in her ears. The green-haired woman from Byleth's dream stood now in Rhea's place. Byleth blinked a few times, hoping to dispel the sight of the warrior-woman.

They started speaking, but their words were muffled and distant in Byleth's ears. After a moment, they looked at Byleth expectantly, then with concern.

"My child, are you feeling well?" Rhea asked, once again standing where the warrior-woman was.

"I'm sorry, it's been a difficult day for us," Jeralt quickly responded. "If we could finish this meeting quickly, that would be best."

Byleth tried taking a deep breath and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, I'm fine," she said quietly. She ignored their stares and looked down at the ground, clenching her fists. Her strength faded as the swirling emotions continued turning into pressure in her head.

"I'm sorry Jeralt, I merely wanted to implore you to rejoin the Knights of Seiros, as you must have figured," Rhea said quickly.

"I won't say no, but…" Jeralt replied, placing his hand on Byleth's back.

Words escaped Byleth's mouth without warning again.

"And what of me?" She asked in a surprisingly clear voice. Byleth had given up on trying to control the emotions that kept prompting her unusual behavior. She looked up at Rhea, who seemed taken aback by Byleth's question. She only got a glance of Seteth, who seemed to bristle at her tone.

"I was hoping that the other professors would have spoken to you first, but Garreg Mach is short one teacher...and we would like you to fill in as professor."

Byleth's ears began ringing loudly and her head continued to fill with heavy, muddy emotions as Rhea finished.

Professor.

The word smashed into Byleth like an angry horse.

Her vision continued to darken as she heard exclamations from Jeralt, and other voices that started bleeding into each other. Blackness filled her eyes like a snowstorm and Byleth fell to her knees, surrounded by dark silence, finally giving her the sleep she was hoping for.


End file.
